BridgeStarscream hit the deck to avoid the incoming blasts from Razorclaw’s shoulder-mounted concussion cannons. One shot grazed the seeker’s wing as he landed faceplate first on the floor. It mattered little since he would be doing no flying while stuck in such tight quarters, but it would have to be rectified before he took flight again. Unfortunately for Starscream, the Predacon leader’s attack was not yet over as the animalistic ‘Con lunged at him, sword drawn up and ready to strike. Thankfully, Motormaster saw fit to throw his own blade into the battle, thus giving Starscream a method to defend himself.
Grabbing the Stunticon Commander’s sword, Starscream spun around onto his back and blocked the downward slice of Razorclaw’s vibrating sonic blade just in time before it would have surely cut into the cockpit on his chest plate. The Seeker Commander quickly followed that up with a swift kick to the Predacon’s shin guards, causing the mechanical beast to stagger back a few steps.
“You didn’t honestly think it would be that easy to beat me, did you, Razorclaw?” Starscream gloated as he got to his feet and assumed a fighting stance, Motormaster’s sword clutched tightly in his actuators. “I am Starscream, right hand mech to Megatron, himself. While the slagmaker and I did not always see optic to optic, I’ve been with him from the very beginning of this eternal conflict and I plan to see his vision through to the very end!”
“We’ll see about that,” Razorclaw replied with a growl as the two mechs circled one another within the ring formed by all those watching from the sidelines. It was not the best of arenas in which to fight, but they had little choice. The leadership here needed to be decided and it needed to be decided now, not later. No more time need be wasted with politics and scheming. Right here, right now, one would fall while the other walked away victorious.
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Once again, Razorclaw lunged forward with his blade up, but this time Starscream met the Predacon’s charge and the two swords clashed together in the center of the makeshift ring, metallic sounds echoing across the bridge. Razorclaw sneered at the seeker from behind his faceshield. Their strengths were comparable, but the Predacon Commander had the edge due mostly to his larger size. Razorclaw pushed forward with his blade, causing Starscream’s arms to shake and bend under the pressure. A bead of energon ran down the side of the seeker’s faceplate, a clear indication of the stress he was under. “You’re sweating, Starscream,” Razorclaw growled as he leaned in close to his prey. “It’ll be over soon. I promise.”
“For you perhaps!” the Seeker Commander retorted before bringing his knee up hard into Razorclaw’s midsection followed by a swift head butt to the Predacon’s face, leaving a sizable crack in his protective shield. The predatory ‘Con staggered backwards as energon dripped from the damaged area. Starscream then went on the attack and swung Motormaster’s sword at his stunned adversary. Razorclaw recovered quickly and managed to dodge several attempts before ducking down and delivering vicious swing at Starscream’s midsection, slicing into his armor plating. It was more than just a surface scratch as purple fluid now seeped from the wound, but it was not deep enough to stop the seeker or end the fight at this juncture. “Ahhh! You filthy slagger! You’ll pay dearly for that!”
Starscream rushed forward, swinging his borrowed blade wildly at Razorclaw who easily deflected each attack as swords clashed again and again. Finally, the Predacon Commander slashed down at the handle of the seeker’s weapon, forcing the blade loose and effectively disarming him. Motormaster’s sword fell to the floor, but before Starscream had a chance to recover it, Razorclaw stepped in quickly and kicked it away towards one of his own Predacons. “Now what, Starscream?” Razorclaw taunted as he stood with his sonic sword at the ready.
Starscream remained calm, knowing full well he was once again at a disadvantage. Perhaps he always was, but he wasn’t about to give his opponent the satisfaction of knowing that. “Now, you’ll feel the bite of my lasers, Predacon!” The Seeker Commander raised his arms and fired a volley of shots from his arm-mounted cannons. Razorclaw was able to avoid the first few, but the confines of the bridge meant that most would hit their target and so they did.
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Razorclaw slowly backed away as blast after blast struck his armor, leaving damage and scorch marks behind. Having no where to seek cover, he raised his arms in a defensive posture. Then, almost as suddenly as he had disarmed Starscream, the Predacon leader’s own sword was knocked from his hand by a well aimed laser blast. “Slaggit!” Razorclaw was not so much angry at his attacker as he was at himself for allowing such a fool hardy thing to happen. Still, the battle was not lost for him, not by a long shot.
Transforming into his lion mode, Razorclaw roared at his adversary before leaping through the laser-filled air and tackling Starscream to the ground where the mechanical beast positioned himself on top of the pinned down Seeker Commander. Razorclaw immediately began to bite into Starscream’s chest plating as his claws dug into his prey’s arms. Bits of metal and armor were torn from Starscream’s body, exposing the circuitry underneath while his left arm cannon was ripped off and flung across the room. “Get off of me you filthy animal! Get off!” That did not happen as Razorclaw roared again, this time directly into the seeker’s faceplate, his canine teeth dangerously close to tearing into Starscream’s throat. “Okay! Okay! You win!” Starscream finally shouted as Razorclaw tore another chunk of armor from the seeker's shoulder near his neck.
“I’m sorry, what was that you just said?” Razorclaw questioned as he spat out the piece of torn metal.
“I said you win, Razorclaw. There’s no need to kill me. I can be of great value to you during your term as Decepticon leader. Just give me the chance to prove it to you.”
The Predacon Commander squinted his lion optics down at his helpless prey, unsure of what to think. He had gone into this battle thinking that one of them would die at the other’s hands. However, Starscream did make a good point. The white and red seeker could be very useful, especially in keeping the other seekers in line. Besides, they needed all the good mechs they could get at this point considering that Shockwave and the Autobots were still a set of problems that needed to be contended with.
“Very well, Starscream,” Razorclaw finally uttered as he backed off and away from the downed seeker. “You will live...to serve me!” The Predacon Commander then transformed back to robot mode and cast a winning gaze over to his unit. He was about to celebrate his victory when he suddenly felt a strange sensation course through his circuits. Instantly, he felt like the power had simply drained out of him. Staggering slightly, Razorclaw turned his head back towards Starscream where he could see that the seeker had pulled out his null-ray rifle and already fired off a shot at him, one that hit its target dead on.
“I live to serve no one but me, Razorclaw!” Starscream bellowed as the mangled Decepticon rose to his feet again and fired more shots from his null-ray weapon directly at Razorclaw. The Predacon Commander was stuck again multiple times, knocking him backwards and to the ground with a loud clank. Lying on his back, Razorclaw remained motionless as the effects of the Seeker Commander’s weapon took hold, his spark pulsating rapidly beneath his chestplate.
Starscream moved cautiously towards his opponent, knowing full well that the Predacon leader was still dangerous even while his circuits were deprived of power. “You fought well, Razorclaw. You more than lived up to your reputation. But, now I’m afraid this fight is over. I win. You will swear your allegiance to me or I will have no choice but to destroy you.” Now standing over the fallen Predacon, Starscream awaited a response. “Take your time.”
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Razorclaw couldn’t believe he had allowed the seeker to get the best of him. He had let his guard down thinking that his opponent had finally given up. He had to admit, though, Screamer did put up a good fight, as well, much better than Razorclaw had expected. In the end, though, the seeker had outsmarted him by waving a faux white flag as it were. However, the Predacon Commander was not done yet as his backup reserve power came online and began to force electricity into his circuits once again. Normally, this would overload his circuits, but that was not the case here considering the effects of the null rays.
Slowly, Razorclaw turned his head to his right where he saw his sonic sword lying near Divebomb’s feet a short distance away. He then returned his gaze back up at Starscream and let out a weak laugh. “We aren't finished yet, Starscream,” the Predacon Commander replied knowingly just as his winged subordinate kicked the sonic sword across the floor towards his opened clawed hand. Gripping it tightly, Razorclaw lashed out towards the seeker and impaled him straight through the midsection with the vibrating blade before it emerged out the back side. Letting go of the handle, the Predacon leader fell back to the floor once more as his circuits were still reeling from the null ray effects. Thankfully, his reserve power had given him the extra boost he needed for one last, decisive strike.
Razorclaw glared up at Starscream, who was now backing away while clutching with both hands the sword that was imbedded within his abdomen. The Seeker Commander stumbled, a shocked look etched on his faceplate, before he then fell backwards to the floor, still holding on to the Predacon’s weapon as energon began to flow from the gaping wound.
“Divebomb, a hand if you will,” Razorclaw summoned as the flying Predacon moved to his leader’s side and began to help him up to at least a seated position. The other Predacons then moved in closer to get a better look at the now defeated Starscream. As they did so, Skywarp suddenly appeared at his commander’s side out of thin air, having teleported onto the bridge from the outside corridor.
“No one touches him! NO ONE!” The teleporter bellowed with his own arm-mounted weapons at the ready.
“Predacons! Back away immediately!” Razorclaw ordered in a stern voice. His animalistic minions did as they were instructed, but not because of Skywarp’s demands. Only Razorclaw told them what to do and that was something that would never change.
Once power flowed uninterrupted through his circuits again, a still weakened and battle-damaged Razorclaw got to his feet with Divebomb’s assistance. He then slowly approached the fallen Seeker Commander and looked down upon his beaten adversary. “I have to admit, Starscream, you gave me a good fight. Well done, but I'm afraid that it is
you who loses here. Skywarp, take your commander down to the med bay for repairs. We still need his expertise and skills in the fight against both the Autobots and Shockwave.”
Razorclaw then turned towards
everyone present on the bridge. “This battle is now over. You will all look to me as your new leader. If you have a problem with that, then by all means join Shockwave on the
Thanatos in orbit. Just know that I have every intention of retaking my vessel from that cycloptic calculator, so you may see me again sooner than you expect or want. Is that clearly understood?”